Paving the way for the next generation of public safety communications

I am very excited about the future of public safety communications and how LTE mobile broadband technology will not only solve interoperability and economies of scale limitations, but also offer new and advanced capabilities, which will truly impact people’s lives.

LTE mobile broadband enabled applications will bring greatly enhanced capabilities for first responders such as real time video streaming, sensor analytics, bio-vital monitoring – and much more. So how do we get there? This is the big question of the public safety industry.

Together with industry partners we are actively driving the 3GPP standardization of public safety specific features that will pave the way for LTE as the best choice for mission-critical communications networks. LTE is a globally adopted technology that brings true economies of scale with network elements, devices and shared spectrum resources. Common standards also help create a strong ecosystem of application developers, who will introduce their innovative products for the benefit of emergency responders.

The key functionality of current narrowband systems is robust and reliable push-to-talk service. LTE is not only going to provide the same group communication service, but is enhancing it with video, location awareness, mapping and more. LTE standardization has already defined the enablers for such services, and we are testing them. We at Nokia understand how critical it is to have robust services in place. We have a strong history and experience we can leverage to support the gradual migration of public safety services from legacy technologies to the latest standards and solutions.

LTE broadband capabilities also allow a new level of visual awareness for decision makers as well as the public safety agents themselves. Various video based solutions are integrated to our portfolio, providing controlled access from body mounted cameras to mobile video sources like drones. Very importantly, LTE also enables the public safety agencies to integrate Internet of Things (IoT) applications to their daily work. This increases the efficiency of the agencies and helps make the environment safer for first responders and the people facing emergencies.

We help the public safety industry to tap the benefits of LTE mobile broadband cost-effectively by building a smooth evolution path from the current systems and applications. Together with our public safety ecosystem partners we want to lay the foundation for reliable and secure LTE-based mission-critical services.

CNET Korea visits Nokia’s public safety showcase

Let’s take a look at an example from Korea, one of the leading countries in terms of early adoption of new technologies, where we showcased our LTE public safety solution and enabled local companies to demonstrate how they can support the development of smart cities and enhanced critical communications.

Editor-in-chief of CNET Korea, SungChang Bong, one of our event visitors said: “I was really impressed by the latest LTE for public safety technology that Nokia Networks and its partners showcased in Korea. I’m excited about the opportunities that LTE brings, such as full integration of different networks that authorities use today, real-time video streaming from emergencies, traffic warning and accident prevention systems, virtual reality, and so much more. It proves that ultimately, the technology of today is not about fancy screens and special effects we see in the movies, but it’s something that can fundamentally transform how our cities operate and ensure the safety of the citizens.”

CNET Korea created this interesting video that explores the local innovations and also features Nokia Network in a Box, our innovative, rapidly deployable LTE solution. I encourage you to take some time and watch the video here – in Korean language with English subtitles.

Visit our Nokia Experience Center at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona for interesting demos and discussions around the future of public safety!

Share your thoughts on this topic by replying below – or join the Twitter discussion with @nokianetworks using #LTE #PublicSafety @CNETKorea

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About the author

Joerg Ambrozy

Joerg is head of Public Safety & Government at Nokia, and very passionate about how technology can save lives by enabling efficient and innovative mobile broadband solutions for first responders. He enjoys traveling and experiencing different cultures with his wife and three kids.